planes and shooting boards.

[Jacob]

I was just going to say that I was pleased to hear Jacob say that - I don't have a shooting board and was beginning to wonder if I was missing out. I remember being taught how to use one in "O"-level woodwork classes, to plane the ends of some bits of wood that would be the rails of our stools, but I can't figure out for the life of me why. Who is going to see the end of the tenon ?

On the other hand I do actually find a 45 degree shooting board very useful for making picture frames etc.

Hello,

If you marked the tenon shoulders with a gauge, you would want them square.

Sawn off to the line good enough for blind mortices, ditto but beyond the line for through mortices - to be planed back after glue up

If you wanted to make X no of pieces all exactly the same length ( and square simultaneously) a shooting board would be a boon. And just as 45 degree joints benefit from a 45 degree shooting board, 90 degree ones do similarly, for biscuit joints, loose tenons, splines etc. There are loads of uses for a shooting board, especially where the work requires a bit more precision and repeatability than frame joinery.

Yes there are little jobs esp for small stuff, boxes etc. I used to use a shooting board for boxes - still working to a line though (and/or offerings up), not relying on the board alone to get things straight - precision yes, repeatability only if you watch it carefully. As a rule I'm more likely to knock up a shooting board from scrap if I feel the need. Only a few minutes work.

 

[David C]

Whils agreeing that components of a reasonable size can easily be planed up square, or mitred, in the vice, small work and thin work and mitred box linings are much better planed on a shooting board.

As Jacob says a simple one is very easy to make.

David

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

I once made an Arts and Crafts box spindle chair which had 35 spindles or 70 blind tenons ( not including the leg and frame M&Ts) it was much quicker to gauge the shoulders than mark each with a knife and square. Not accurate enough to do straight from the cross cut saw, unless you think gappy shoulders are acceptable. All brought to the exact dimension with a shooting board with squared ends for gauging from. A child's cot would be another example, where this would work. Precision sawing makes the shooting process very quick, so it is not like we are compensating for poor skill, just monopolising on it. Through tenons with an equal protrusion ( or recession) would be another example where shooting the ends of tenons square is a good idea.

Mike.

 

[Reggie]

Just had a mess around with the plane after sharpening and removing the non existent camber, I am happy with the way the thing is working, just had a slightly zen moment too staring down my trued bit of pine and I could see the way the grain changed direction by the way the light was hitting it

apart from that ridiculously expensive shooting plane that someone put on the forum, are there any preferences for a plane for shooting?

 

[G S Haydon]

#5 or #4

 

[David C]

Weight is good, so 5 1/2, 6. or 7.

5 1/2 is very good as it is for most things.

Some like low angle jack planes.

David

 

[Racers]

4 1/2 or 5 1/2 for bigger stuff



Pete

 

[bugbear]

#5 1/2 or #6 is the best of the common planes; low angle and/or skewed blade give
better cutting, but this is not always needed, and planes with these
features are less common and usually more expensive.

BugBear

 

[Harbo]

This is what I use - LN No.9 with hotdog - bought several yrs ago and never regretted buying it!

Board from from scrap bits including old kitchen cupboard door.

Rod

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

The LN No 9 is a nice plane, but if the OP thinks the Veritas shooting plane will be expensive....

A number 7 Bailey type is likely the best, if you haven't got a dedicated shooting plane IMO.

Mike.

 

[Reggie]

thanks guys, once again so we've got a selection between a 4, 4 1/2, 5, 5 1/2, 6 and a 7. I have a record no.4 right now but that's probably got to go back to it's owner at some point. The LN no 9 does look nice but will be well beyond my price range.

I notice everyone avoids new stanley/record planes like the plague, why is that? I see that the mouths got bigger but that really means nothing to me in terms of why and I guess there are probably other reasons too?

 

[AndyT]

thanks guys, once again so we've got a selection between a 4, 4 1/2, 5, 5 1/2, 6 and a 7. I have a record no.4 right now but that's probably got to go back to it's owner at some point. The LN no 9 does look nice but will be well beyond my price range.

I notice everyone avoids new stanley/record planes like the plague, why is that? I see that the mouths got bigger but that really means nothing to me in terms of why and I guess there are probably other reasons too?

To summarise a long story - since manufacture moved away from Sheffield and companies were run by accountants not engineers, many of the important subtleties that make a plane work properly were abandoned. The result is that planes of recent make may look like planes in photos, but be made of poor metal: the castings may have flaws, surfaces may be improperly finished and not be flat and square; threads will be rough; heat treatment random. In short, you can find enough things wrong to prevent a plane being usable.

 

[Reggie]

The cheap planes do sound iffy when you put it like that Andy, I take it there's no fettling that can be done to bring them up to scratch?

 

[AndyT]

The cheap planes do sound iffy when you put it like that Andy, I take it there's no fettling that can be done to bring them up to scratch?

To some extent, yes, you can remove some of the defects. There's the catch-22 for anyone who's new to planes - they need to know what a good one is like before they can make a poor one better. Also it can be hard to deduce what faults any particular specimen has.

Some people want to equip themselves for the minimum amount of cash and don't mind spending time on tools. Others prefer to spend more and get something which will work reliably. Both approaches work, as does everything in between!

Do have a browse back in this section for very many quite long discussions on this theme. "Fettling" would be a good search term to use. (You'll find that the forum has a built-in search and a Google search; they work differently and will produce different results.)

 

[bugbear]

The cheap planes do sound iffy when you put it like that Andy, I take it there's no fettling that can be done to bring them up to scratch?

Fettling can improve fit and finish, but poor materials remain poor.

BugBear

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

thanks guys, once again so we've got a selection between a 4, 4 1/2, 5, 5 1/2, 6 and a 7. I have a record no.4 right now but that's probably got to go back to it's owner at some point. The LN no 9 does look nice but will be well beyond my price range....

A cheaper - and much better - option is to build your own strike block plane.

The Kenyon tapered iron off eBay was about $15. The remainder was (ex-rafter) Jarrah off the shelf.

Bed is 38 degrees, so this has a low cutting angle.

A hefty plane that takes effortless shavings on ½” thick Jarrah …

Build pictorial: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTo ... Plane.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[AndyT]

Derek, lovely as that no doubt is, the OP only has one plane, so it might all be a bit much too soon!

I'll bring the thread back down to earth by adding that a No 4 is perfectly suitable for use on a shooting board. My own board is made of two bits of ordinary pine screwed onto an offcut of melamine faced chipboard. I've had it for years but still not got round to making anything "better".

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I know Andy ... I haven't posted for a while and couldn't resist

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Reggie]

Andy, I was thinking exactly the same thing, it's a fantastic looking plane Derek and it's beyond my scope but I think that's something I'd like to aspire to in time though Thanks for posting

I've got plenty of bits of mdf or some ply that I could use for a shooting board and other scraps, I'm sure it won't take long and will be very usable.

 

[AndyT]

Ok Reggie, if you aim somewhere between mine and Derek's you should be ok!

(Sorry Derek - I couldn't resist either! ;-) )